Representations of Disabled Characters in Contemporary Upper Middle-Grade Children's Literature

当代中高中儿童文学中残疾人物的表现

• 批准号: 2893537
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Nottingham Trent University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2893537
• 关键词: Representations; Disabled; Characters; Contemporary; Upper

This creative and critical (50%-50%) project explores representations of disability in British children'sfiction. The critical component considers the roles and prevalence of disabled protagonists in uppermiddle-grade fiction (for 11-14-year-olds) identifying reasons for any shortfall (i.e., a lack of opportunitiesfor disabled writers) and subsequent societal impacts (focussing on the intended readership). It will bethe first in-depth study on this topic: analysing the current body of work and focussing on the creation ofdisabled protagonists by disabled/non-disabled authors for upper middle-grade, and related ethicalarguments. In dialogue with this, the creative research is an upper middle-grade novel written from theperspective of a 13-year-old with a spinal injury, illuminating her experiences, specifically how herdisability influences her worldview and actions.Context3.9% of surveyed children's novels published in 2019 contained disabled main characters (CCBC, 2019);however, Scope's 2019 report states 8% of UK children identify as disabled. Jill Coleman, BookTrust'sDirector of Children's Books, suggest 'Stories and characters [...] affect how [children] see themselvesand the world around them' (BookTrust, 2021). This is true for all children, but particularly pertinent forthose with a disability, to foster their aspirations, as well as helping non-disabled children view 'disabilityas part of the norm' (Strick, 2017). Without this view, classroom divides can develop (Reijer & McGrail,2015). Research suggests divides between disabled and non-disabled children are particularly harmful inthe middle-grade stage when 'conversation and debate' of 'foreign concepts and problems' typicallyoccurs (Glass, 2017; Lipoff, 2011).7 / 23Research Questions:1. How is the upper middle-grade age group impacted by underrepresentation of disability?2. How can literary texts provide platforms for positive change?3. What challenges are faced around representation and self-representation regarding authorship?4. How can writing positively change perceptions of disability?MethodologyThe critical element begins by investigating the current body of middle-grade work featuring disabledmain characters exploring how representation impacts the readership. The creative work begins withpractical research organised via M4C's partner, the National Paralympic Heritage Trust (leveraging theirrelationship with the wider disabled community). Agreement in principle has been reached with NPHT todeliver creative writing workshops within the disabled community investigating how positive disabledcharacters can be created sensitively. In dialogue with this research, an upper middle-grade novelfeaturing a 13-year-old disabled protagonist will be created, the workshop cohort providing vitalsensitivity feedback as it is drafted. Findings will be documented in the critical component (middle gradeauthors and publishers will also be interviewed to capture their views and experiences, and relevantwork critically analysed).Writing creatively is essential for bringing to life the issues of representation for the readership, providingthe positive benefit of the creation of a three-dimensional upper middle-grade disabled character.ImpactThe project provides improved knowledge of the benefits of representation through creative research.Initiating cultural exchange via the National Paralympics Heritage Trust, by hosting a programme ofwriting workshops the project promotes disabled (own voice) and non-disabled writers to sensitivelycreate a legacy of positive and authentic disabled characters.

这个富有创意和批判性（50%-50%）的项目探讨了英国儿童小说中残疾的表现。关键部分考虑残疾主角在中高年级小说（针对 11-14 岁）中的角色和普遍性，确定任何短缺的原因（即残疾作家缺乏机会）以及随后的社会影响（重点关注预期的社会影响）。读者）。这将是关于该主题的首次深入研究：分析当前的作品，重点关注残疾/非残疾作者为中高年级创作的残疾主角，以及相关的伦理争论。与此对话的是，本次创造性研究是一部从一名脊椎受伤的 13 岁女孩的角度写的中高年级小说，阐明了她的经历，特别是她的残疾如何影响她的世界观和行为。 背景 3.9% 的受访儿童2019 年出版的小说中包含残疾主角（CCBC，2019）；然而，Scope 2019 年的报告指出，8% 的英国儿童被认定为残疾人。 BookTrust 儿童读物总监吉尔·科尔曼 (Jill Coleman) 表示，“故事和人物 [...] 影响[孩子]如何看待自己和周围的世界”（BookTrust，2021）。这对所有儿童都是如此，但对于残疾儿童来说尤其如此，以培养他们的愿望，并帮助非残疾儿童将“残疾视为常态的一部分”（Strick，2017）。如果没有这种观点，课堂分歧就会加剧（Reijer & McGrail，2015）。研究表明，残疾儿童和非残疾儿童之间的分歧在中年级阶段尤其有害，因为此时通常会发生“外国概念和问题”的“对话和辩论”（Glass，2017；Lipoff，2011）。7 / 23研究问题：1。残疾代表性不足对中高年级年龄组有何影响？2.文学文本如何为积极变革提供平台？3．关于作者身份的表述和自我表述面临哪些挑战？4.写作如何积极改变对残疾的看法？方法论关键要素首先调查当前以残疾人为主角的中级作品，探索代表性如何影响读者。这项创造性工作始于 M4C 的合作伙伴国家残奥会遗产信托组织（利用其与更广泛的残疾人社区的关系）组织的实践研究。已与 NPHT 达成原则协议，在残疾人社区内举办创意写作研讨会，研究如何敏感地创造积极的残疾人角色。在与这项研究的对话中，将创作一部以 13 岁残疾主角为主角的中高年级小说，研讨会小组在起草时提供生命敏感性反馈。研究结果将记录在关键部分（中级作者和出版商也将接受采访，以获取他们的观点和经验，并对相关工作进行批判性分析）。创造性写作对于为读者呈现代表性问题至关重要，并提供积极的好处创建三维中高年级残疾人角色。影响该项目通过创造性研究提高了对代表性好处的了解。通过国家残奥会遗产信托基金举办写作计划，发起文化交流该项目促进残疾人（自己的声音）和非残疾作家敏感地创造积极和真实的残疾人角色的遗产。